It has been generally known heretofore to control or divert the flow of vehicular traffic around temporary road hazards or other unusual conditions by the use of portable traffic markers, (U.S. Pat. No. 2,719,505, H. Blumenthal).
The markers often of a frustro-conical or cylindrical shape are constructed of brightly colored, lightweight, resilient material that withstand inadvertent impact by motor vehicles.
Markers of this type have become widely accepted as an effective means of diverting the flow of traffic as they possess high visibility, are easily portable and can be set up conveniently, often from a slowly-moving vehicle so as to rapidly position a string of markers to divert vehicular traffic around a road hazard or other obstacle.
Such strings of markers while effective at diverting vehicular traffic do not provide any information as to the nature of the impending hazard, the speed limitation or other traffic control information. Thus, such markers must be used in conjunction with separate informational traffic signs to effectively and safely control the flow of vehicular traffic around hazards or obstacles.
Present practice requires that such signs be mounted on individual stands, propped against the road markers or stuck in an expansion joint or crack in the roadway.
Erection and placing of informational traffic control signs in the foregoing configurations is time-consuming and difficult if not impossible to accomplish from a moving vehicle. Furthermore, signs that are propped against markers or stuck into cracks in the roadway are subject to being blown over or disturbed from their set positions by the draft created by passing vehicles and are less visible as they are low to the ground.
Accordingly, the present invention by using a resilient road marker as a base or standard for readily interchangeable informational traffic signs provides an improved traffic control device which possesses information as to traffic control, high visibility, stability and can be rapidly assembled and erected from a slowly moving vehicle in any convenient location.